Critical Hit
by Ringatiz
Summary: "I'm sorry." [TW: Blood, self-harm. Ringabel/Tiz]


"And where are _you_ going?" Ringabel accused jokingly, a daunting smile on his face.

Tiz smiled back sincerely, combing his hair with a lone hand. "I'm just gonna tend to minor bruises and cuts in the bathroom. Nothing much." He shrugged lightly, quirking his gaze towards the room.

The older of the two suppressed a yawn by muffling his mouth with the back of his hand. "You don't need help?" he inquired. "I mean, it's almost midnight. I can help you apply to gauze to the cuts. Oh, and we have Potions to spare—" Ringabel was cut off by a semi-audible, bitter-sounding chuckle from the younger of the two. He almost protested to force himself to help, but he knew better than to challenge Tiz. If it was he insisted, then Ringabel didn't have the proper reason to interfere. He never understood his friend's way of thinking, but if that were the case, Ringabel didn't need to object. Tiz is a smart kid—he can take care of himself.

The younger male responded with a half-grin. "Ringabel, they're only cuts. They won't kill me." And with that being said, Tiz left Ringabel alone on the well-made bed to catch some rest and count sheep. But the blond didn't need to sate his grogginess yet.

**;CRITICALHIT;**

Ringabel awakened with a jolt, his hands curled tightly onto the linen bedsheets. He glanced to his right only to find that instead of Tiz sleeping, was a pillow and rumpled sheets instead. Breathing heavily to rouse himself from the remainder of his reverie, the blond remained in his upright position for a moment before exhaling loudly and falling backwards to land on his pillow with an audible _whump_. He could feel the sweat that mildly doused his clothing.

Attempting to catch a few more needed winks of sleep, Ringabel shut his eyes quickly, only to find himself staring up at the ceiling once more.

He scowled when he realized that he was basically lounging around in his own body fluids if he were to continue laying there. He wasn't desperate to ward off his natural musk. Swinging his feet off the bed, Ringabel combed his fingers through his hair lazily as he steadily blinked his tired eyes awake. Running his hands through the blankets to make sure he didn't leave behind a stray sock or two, he noticed that Tiz's side of the bed was cold, which meant Tiz had been awake for hours.

Tiz probably didn't even sleep this time.

Although it slightly concerned Ringabel, he knew better than to force his way into Tiz's personal problems, no matter how severe. Yet Ringabel found himself worrying over his friend's constant nightmares.

A sudden ache surged up the male's leg and he winced. He silently limped over to the bathroom, keeping his legs close together, but was somewhat surprised to find it occupied. The blond muttered something under his breath before rapping the back of his hand on the door, and he heard an audible yelp from inside, along with the cluttering of metal and sloshing water.

"Tiz, are you in there?" Ringabel asked, his voice still slurred from the groggy way he had awakened. When he received no answer except for the slosh of water, he said, "Open the door."

Tiz didn't respond right away, but in a whisper-like voice that Ringabel could barely hear, he said, "I'm... I'm in the bath."

Ringabel fidgeted and rapped his hand on the door again, only louder. "Well then, just close the curtain. You see Tiz, I really need to pee, and I'm not about to go to the girl's bathroom."

The brunet that was wallowed up inside protested loudly. "No! Just wait a little longer! You're being impatient—"

"You've been in there for _hours_," Ringabel objected, sighing in exasperation. Tiz didn't respond, but Ringabel could clearly hear him moving around in the tub. He put a hand on the doorknob and twisted it, surprised to find that Tiz forgot to lock the door, whether it was sheer forgetfulness or purpose that left him to refrain from confining himself. "Whether you like it or not, I'm coming in. Unless you want me to see you stark naked, I suggest you close the shower curtain." Tiz protested again, only louder, but succumbed to Ringabel's advice and slid the curtain to shield himself.

The first thing Ringabel noticed when he walked into the bathroom was the odd aroma that wafted in the air. It was sharp and it tickled his senses whenever he took a breath. The only sign that Tiz was actually still in the bathroom was the occasional slosh of water as he moved around. Otherwise, Ringabel would've thought he was dead.

Something was off, however, and Ringabel was still concerned as ever.

"Tiz, are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine."

"You hesitated."

Ringabel could almost picture Tiz's scowl at his persistence. Tiz made a low growling sound and muttered sourly, "Ringabel, I thought you said you just going to go pee and you'd leave."

The blond laughed, clearly amused. "I didn't say I would leave," he responded, staring at the shower curtain. "I figured you were feeling bad about somethi—" He paused. Ringabel almost lurched as he recognized the odd scent. It was too familiar. "Tiz," he began, only with a more serious tone. "are you sure you're alright?" The delay of the brunet's answer only made him get anxious.

"I..." The sloshing of water cut off the rest of Tiz's answer as he yelped in sharp pain. "I'm alright! Jeez Ringabel, just do what you gotta do and go back to bed!"

Ringabel froze. He muttered a curse under his breath; he cursed himself, he cursed the Eternian Forces— he cursed anyone and anything he thought of. With an anguished cry, he tore open the shower curtain, and he almost fell down and blacked out. He wanted to lurch, to cry, to do _something_ humane, but instead, he just stared blankly at Tiz with his eyes brimming with confusion and sorrow.

And there Tiz sat, too scared to say anything back, or to get up out of the bath. He was bathing in blood. His own blood. Ringabel knew from the split-second he saw the criss-crossed scars too fine and deep to be from the monsters they battled. Drawing a shaky breath, Ringabel edged closer to the tub and kneeled down, feeling the cold porcelain tiles underneath his feet. "Tiz... show me your arms." _Why...?_

Tiz hesitated with a shadowed expression, but reluctantly, he held out both his wrists, showcasing the wide array of slashes and cuts that were clearly self-inflicted. Fresh, crimson blood streamed down from the fine lines, drenching Tiz in the metallic liquid. Some were scabbed and other large cuts were clogged with dried blood, but the smaller ones that tainted his wrists were fresh. Hurriedly, the older of the two pulled the nearby towels from their rack and wrapped them around Tiz's arms to stop the endless blood flow. Choking back a yell, Ringabel whispered, "Why, Tiz? Why did you do this?"

"I just—"

Tiz didn't have much to say before his eyes fluttered closed, and his skin grew cold. Ringabel caught him before he fell backwards into the tub. Tiz was losing too much blood. Ringabel could feel his skin crawl as he pulled his friend out of the tub. He adjusted his position so that he cold hold Tiz and still hold on to something for support. Ringabel wobbled backwards, but he reached out to hold onto the doorframe to regain his balance.

"AGNÈS! EDEA!" he cried hoarsely, trying to shout as loud as he possibly could. He didn't care that his voice cracked; gods, he needed to do _something_. He earned a groggy moan from the other room and he shouted once more, this time breaking into tears. "GET THE MEDICS! GET OVER HERE NOW!"

**;CRITICALHIT;**

Tiz was at the nearby White Magic Facility.

It was blurry; just last night, Tiz was laughing, happy, and hell, even normal. But now he was laying in a hospital bed, without any explanation to give to his friends. That was a few hours ago, when Ringabel found Tiz almost _dead_ in the bathroom.

But what was worse was when he returned to the bathroom. Sure, he never got to even use the toilet that morning, but he had to remove the blood from the tub. It was horrible, watching the red sink and just hearing the drain gulp down the liquid loudly almost made Ringabel double over.

When the tub was drained, it had reverted back to its original state of clean and untouched. _Just how Tiz should've stayed_, Ringabel thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the gleam of a silver object.

Disgusted, Ringabel picked up the razor and inspected it. It was hard to believe that someone like Tiz would be able to hold something like this and inflict both physical and emotional pain on themselves. Just the thought of Tiz doing something like this in secrecy drove Ringabel mad. "Tiz..."

He needed to have a talk with him.

* * *

**A/N**: kill the stereotype that tiz is extremely cute and innocent pls


End file.
